Youtube and Internet Woodworking Influencers - Where did they all go?

rjboch

rjboch

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It may be me, but it appears like a bunch of the woodworking YouTube channels have disappeared or new content has slowed to a crawl? It was not too long ago that new pseudo woodworkers (more influencer than actual skilled woodworker) were popping up all over the internet with a shop full of sponsored new tools and bragging about making big bucks selling useless knick-knacks and quitting their jobs to become woodworkers. What's going on? Has reality hit?
 
Maybe both the content producers and audiences get tired?

I can't but wonder why so many people -- woodworkers or not -- let themselves be led or influenced by the so-called key opinion leaders or influencers on all kinds of topics. Maybe it's just for fun or humor, I once heard someone calling herself a social media influencer when asked about her occupation!

Edit: I recently came across a video in which a guy fixed a vintage guitar with methods that guitar makers/restorers would react as if they saw a ghost. But his followers -- some woodworkers, I assume, but mostly people who look for entertainment --  showered him with praises like he's the master of masters. I felt bad about the guitar even I'm not a guitar maker or player. So much about people getting influenced.
 
I don't believe that they have gone anywhere.  They are still out there.  Perhaps manufacturers are slowing down on their harvesting of new talent.  Or perhaps some of the earlier influencers have hit the end of their usefulness or have moved on to other products.  Influencers are only loyal to the buck coming in.  It's a business and income stream for them.

Peter
 
I've noticed some content creators are making longer videos that look more professionally produced, but the time between videos is longer and the projects themselves are more complex. Creators who were on a schedule publishing videos once or twice a week are now putting out content once or twice a month. Some creators are also going behind a Patreon paywall so you might not be seeing a majority of what they are publishing.

I've also noticed that the algorithm is very sensitive to what I watch. If I'm only watching woodworking videos, I get a lot of woodworking recommendations. But as soon as I watch a surf, architecture, or news video, the type of recommendations I get dramatically changes. It only takes watching a few non-woodworking videos to really alter my recommendations.
 
I've noticed some quality content makers seeming to post less often. Also appears to me that staleness is setting in. My conclusion was they were running out of new ideas to build content around.

Agree with [member=75283]4nthony[/member] that the YT algorithm can really impact what gets served up, & quickly.

RMW
 
There's still plenty out there producing great videos, although as noted many have taken the monetisation route and setup Patreon and subscriber accounts, and heavily market their videos. But some of the greats like Ishitani Furniture, Darrell Peart, Blacktail Studios, Carl Jacobson, etc are still putting lots of great videos up.

Another channel really worth watching is A Craftsmans Legacy, a 4 season series by Eric Gorges on makers, absolutely awesome to watch. I'd like it a bit more in-depth than it is, but the content is great.

But there is also an awful lot of clickbait videos around with great subject names, but very little in the way of actual content.
 
The whole social media influencer thing is a total mystery to me - and to many other non-millennials, I suspect. My youngest daughter (24) would avidly watch one such freeloader who put out content every few days, with each video containing lavish endorsements for some ‘must-have’ beauty product or other. It never struck her that this week’s makeup remover was the absolute best - not last week’s which was the old absolute best. I can’t get my head around how folks can get sucked in by this blatant hypocrisy - but clearly they do, otherwise the manufacturers wouldn’t throw $$$ at these people.

The only thing I’ve ever been influenced to do is to turn off the computer.
 
I subscribe to a few YouTube woodworking channels and usually learn a lot in the process.  However, I unsubscribe when the content changes from projects a hobbyist with a modest shop could produce to projects that involve large CNC machines or LASER cutters, or the video appears to be a shill for the sponsor.  I don't mind sponsor plugs as long as the advertising doesn't get in the way of the video.  Bourbon Moth Woodworking is an example of content separate from the sponsor.
 
If I see one more video of how to make furniture out of an old pallet, I think I am going to die.

But overall, I think I am still finding plenty of informative content.

One channel you may want to check out is John's Furniture Repair. 
As the name implies, it shows repair and refinishing of (often antique) furniture pieces.

Trena has some great skills.  (John is her father, seems to be retired, in case you are wondering)
 
There is a lot of repetition, my hunch is many creators are inspired by other creators, it become self perpetuating.

I agree that there still a lot of value and innovation. Inspire Woodcraft in particular provides a lot of useful tips in 3-4 minutes. Peter Millard also has a lot of great techniques to learn, although he seems to have slowed down a bit recently.

RMW
 
I agree totally with [member=75283]4nthony[/member] 's observations. The algorithm is very sensitive, which I think reflects the shorter-attention-spanned users.
You have a few main interests (and channels that work with them) and mostly watch those things. Then all it takes is watching one thing about some other topic to get flooded with suggestions for that, leaving the others behind.
I'm all over the place. Woodworking, metal working (machining and welding), 3D printing, cop watchers and 1st amendment auditors, bullet throwers  ::), automotive, cycling, stand-up comedy, etc. Then I watched a video about restoring a lawnmower...and bang, tons of them.

As far as dwindling content, yes I see it, but it's not just woodworkers. Some of my favorite channels have slowed to a crawl. This Old Tony, for example. He has great content and been on a long time, then dropped to once a month or so?
I think it has become about money. The ones who make it big, from very humble beginnings, seem to get a lot of support from Patreon, channel memberships, their own website, etc and they just don't bother anymore, since they don't need to. Others get disenfranchised with it because they aren't making the money they thought was possible.
Others have branched off into other interests, which may or may not hold the attention of some of the followers.
Matt Cremona, for example, started as a mostly hand tool furniture builder in his home/garage shop. As a tangential thing, he got into urban logging and milling the lumber. This lead to building a huge bandsaw mill and then a new log harvesting trailer. The growth overwhelmed his space, so he rented a warehouse, which included selling wood slabs and furniture parts. A move to a new house, with the remodel of that came next, and now he's on to building a huge barn on the property. I obviously have been there through it all, but if your only interest was hand planes and Chippendale furniture, you were out long ago.
I don't mind the adds which are related to the content, but the beard trimmers, food boxes, and VPN services need to go.
 
Steve1 said:
If I see one more video of how to make furniture out of an old pallet, I think I am going to die.

But overall, I think I am still finding plenty of informative content.

One channel you may want to check out is John's Furniture Repair. 
As the name implies, it shows repair and refinishing of (often antique) furniture pieces.

Trena has some great skills.  (John is her father, seems to be retired, in case you are wondering)
Click to expand...

I think her father and mom are still operating out of Winnepeg, unless it has changed in the last year or two.

Similar to MikeGE's thinking, I've stopped checking out her videos after she showcased a $120 pencil sharpener she received. It is one thing using some free paint supplies including wearing an apron bearing the paint company's name and another depicting the use of a shiny niche product that has nothing to do with antique restoration per se.
 
Crazyraceguy said:
I agree totally with [member=75283]4nthony[/member] 's observations. The algorithm is very sensitive, which I think reflects the shorter-attention-spanned users.
You have a few main interests (and channels that work with them) and mostly watch those things. Then all it takes is watching one thing about some other topic to get flooded with suggestions for that, leaving the others behind.
I'm all over the place. Woodworking, metal working (machining and welding), 3D printing, cop watchers and 1st amendment auditors, bullet throwers  ::), automotive, cycling, stand-up comedy, etc. Then I watched a video about restoring a lawnmower...and bang, tons of them.

As far as dwindling content, yes I see it, but it's not just woodworkers. Some of my favorite channels have slowed to a crawl. This Old Tony, for example. He has great content and been on a long time, then dropped to once a month or so?
I think it has become about money. The ones who make it big, from very humble beginnings, seem to get a lot of support from Patreon, channel memberships, their own website, etc and they just don't bother anymore, since they don't need to. Others get disenfranchised with it because they aren't making the money they thought was possible.
Others have branched off into other interests, which may or may not hold the attention of some of the followers.
Matt Cremona, for example, started as a mostly hand tool furniture builder in his home/garage shop. As a tangential thing, he got into urban logging and milling the lumber. This lead to building a huge bandsaw mill and then a new log harvesting trailer. The growth overwhelmed his space, so he rented a warehouse, which included selling wood slabs and furniture parts. A move to a new house, with the remodel of that came next, and now he's on to building a huge barn on the property. I obviously have been there through it all, but if your only interest was hand planes and Chippendale furniture, you were out long ago.
I don't mind the adds which are related to the content, but the beard trimmers, food boxes, and VPN services need to go.
Click to expand...

I miss TOT, his videos I'll "save" to relish late at night. Sadly, I think the effort has caused a lot of great creators to throttle back, as well as demands to feed tik tok and Instagram to remain relevant. Also feels like a 20 minute video may be exceeding attention spans now.

I justified paying for YT to get the music app, which eliminated ads. There's enough product hawking in the videos themselves. I get its a business, so I've made my compromise and enjoy the education and entertainment. 

RMW
 
Crazyraceguy said:
Matt Cremona, for example, started as a mostly hand tool furniture builder in his home/garage shop. As a tangential thing, he got into urban logging and milling the lumber. This lead to building a huge bandsaw mill and then a new log harvesting trailer. The growth overwhelmed his space, so he rented a warehouse, which included selling wood slabs and furniture parts. A move to a new house, with the remodel of that came next, and now he's on to building a huge barn on the property. I obviously have been there through it all, but if your only interest was hand planes and Chippendale furniture, you were out long ago.
Click to expand...
The move, new home remodel and new barn got me re-interested in Matt's channel. Donovan has been a great addition on-screen.
 
Crazyraceguy said:
Matt Cremona, for example, started as a mostly hand tool furniture builder in his home/garage shop. As a tangential thing, he got into urban logging and milling the lumber. This lead to building a huge bandsaw mill and then a new log harvesting trailer. The growth overwhelmed his space, so he rented a warehouse, which included selling wood slabs and furniture parts. A move to a new house, with the remodel of that came next, and now he's on to building a huge barn on the property. I obviously have been there through it all, but if your only interest was hand planes and Chippendale furniture, you were out long ago.
I don't mind the adds which are related to the content, but the beard trimmers, food boxes, and VPN services need to go.
Click to expand...

I've noticed this as well. Johnny Brooke (Crafted Workshop) has gone from woodworking projects to construction/finish carpentry, Scott Brown Carpentry is starting to include cabinet projects, Four Eyes Furniture has moved from box furniture to working with slabs and epoxy, and Bourbon Moth is doing a large multi-episode treehouse build. Jason Bent seems to be focusing less on projects and more on tools. And Laura Kampf is restoring a 100+ year old house.

I, for one, I like the variety in content people are putting out.

As for the ads, it gets a bit cringey with people pushing Squarespace and other services. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to fast forward through them. Though, the smart creators will continue to show content while talking about the product they are advertising and/or put the ad in a picture-in-picture window.
 
4nthony said:
As for the ads, it gets a bit cringey with people pushing Squarespace and other services. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to fast forward through them. Though, the smart creators will continue to show content while talking about the product they are advertising and/or put the ad in a picture-in-picture window.
Click to expand...
SponsorBlock in Firefox. Or, if on an Android device, YouTube Vanced.
 
Ditto to the algorithm.  It's pretty annoying, really, but that's what it does.

One of my favorite "ironic ad placement" moments was watching a video about "how to look 10 years younger", which didn't actually interest me other than it was on the channel of a guy whose videos I was already watching.  The tips included "cut out soda and sugary drinks", and also "get rid of your facial hair", which is when I mentally tuned out... I like being married, and my beard helps keep the peace. 

In any case, mid-roll ad: Boom!  Mountain Dew Code Red!

Equally ironic in that you actually have a certain degree of choice in advertising types to include on a channel, but sometimes money speaks louder than principles, I suppose?

I appreciate the guys and gals who take the time to actually explain why they're doing things as they're doing them, although I'm guessing my patience for that might wear out as I actually learn and do myself.

There's also the ever-fascinating world of ASMR-style "transformation" videos, the most recent of which I've come across is "yard transformation" or "concrete cleaning" (note: they're not new, just new to me).  The monetization of 14M views on a single video more than makes up for the lost revenue in doing the job for free and recording it.

I still don't understand the channel and couple that went from bespoke hand-made furniture at 5-10k/build to "let's make cutting boards with 10% margin" and now "let's make charcuterie boards with low margins".  When someone spend as much, if not more, time on their social media and podcast platform work than their business, I have a hard time believing that they're actually a woodworking business owner; they're a media creation business owner...
 
I think you are right, keeping up with Instagram and TikTok has pushed the YouTube content to a minimum.
Tony and AvE were some of the very first channels I actually subscribed too.  Clough42 and ChuckE2009 not long after. All of them have slowed considerably. Chuck is all but gone totally, he changed the channel name too, for some reason?
 
This Old Tony has to be one of the most entertaining Youtubers around, love his videos. If you're into metal working as well Abom79, Keith Fenner, OxToolco, and TubalCain have fantastic channels.

And then there is the growing proliferation of these types of woodworking youtubers:


Youtube is sorta becoming a mix of OnlyFans and subscriber access for a lot of media producers.

 
squall_line said:
I still don't understand the channel and couple that went from bespoke hand-made furniture at 5-10k/build to "let's make cutting boards with 10% margin" and now "let's make charcuterie boards with low margins". 
Click to expand...

I don't know the couple being mentioned but my guess is they probably had better monetization with their cutting and charcuterie board videos than they did with their more complicated build videos. A cutting board is more achievable to a wider audience so there's more appeal (higher view count) and your cost of materials is much lower (higher ROI).

A cutting board video with 4.2M views is estimated to make ~$16,8000.00
https://auxmode.com/suiteoffreetools/youtube-views-to-money-calculator/

This guy makes more than one cutting board, but at 4.2M views, he's making a nice chunk of change off the views.=178s
 
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